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03 Oct 2018 / Panama Canal, Panama

Canal transits four LNG vessels in one day

The Panama Canal reached a new milestone [on Monday] after the successful transit of four liquefied natural gas (LNG) ships with beams of up to 160 feet (49 meters) in a single day through the Neopanamax Locks. With this milestone, the Panama Canal breaks the record set on April 17, 2018, when three LNG vessels transited through the waterway on the same day.

Ribera del Duero Knutsen with a cargo capacity of 173,000 m3 and Maran Gas Pericles with cargo capacity of 174,000 m3 transited northbound, while Torben Spirit with a cargo capacity of 174,000 m3 and Oceanic Breeze with a cargo capacity of 155,300 m3 transited southbound, facilitating international trade between customers in South Korea, Japan, Chile and the US Gulf Coast.

As a result of experience acquired with the transit of more than 4,200 Neopanamax vessels, the Panama Canal introduced changes to its Transit Reservation System to offer two slots per day to LNG vessels. These modifications have allowed to optimize the Expanded Canal's capacity, in order to meet specific demands such as the transit of four LNG vessels.

The modifications -- announced in August 2018 and that came into effect [on 1 October] --- also allow lifting certain daylight restrictions for LNG vessels, as well as meetings between LNG vessels in opposite directions in Gatun Lake…

(For information about operations in the Panama Canal, contact GAC-Wilford & McKay at [email protected])

Source: Extracts from Panama Canal Authority Press Release dated 1 October 2018

If quoting any content from Hot Port News, please cite GAC Hot Port News as the source.

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